A smoke break on a fire escape in Manhattan on Wednesday.Credit...Demetrius Freeman for The New York Times

The mayor’s fireworks announcement was greeted with … fireworks.

The fireworks show must go on.

So said Mayor Bill de Blasio on Twitter on Wednesday, posting a video message in which he promised that the annual Macy’s Fourth of July pyrotechnic display would light up the sky despite the city’s current shutdown and gloomy prospects for the summer.

“One thing we know for sure,” Mr. de Blasio said. “We will find a way to put on a show that will show how much we love our country.”

He elaborated at his morning briefing.

“This is a day we cannot miss, this is a celebration that has to happen,” he said. “Come hell or high water we are going to do this.”

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‘The Show Will Go On,’ de Blasio Promises Fourth of July Fireworks

Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City said the annual Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks show would be held, despite coronavirus shutdowns in place.

One way or another, the show will go on. One way or another, we’re going to celebrate the Fourth of July in a very special way in New York City. There’s definitely going to be fireworks — how we do them, where we do them, how we do it in a way that’s safe and keeps New Yorkers healthy — a lot of questions that we have to answer between now and then.

Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City said the annual Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks show would be held, despite coronavirus shutdowns in place.CreditCredit...Juan Arredondo for The New York Times

The response on Twitter was swift and furious. Some people apparently felt the festive promise showed misplaced priorities.

“How about u stop worrying about Celebrations and fix this city,” one user asked.

“How about Macy’s just gives all that money to supermarket, delivery and healthcare workers?” asked another. “I promise you New Yorkers are more worried about their own health, the health of others, and ensuring that their favorite small businesses are able to survive, rather than a stupid fireworks show.”

Others noted that Macy’s had furloughed most of its 125,000 U.S. employees last month.

Although the company does not publicly disclose its costs for the fireworks display, which last year involved setting off 70,000 pyrotechnics from barges along the East River, the price tag has been estimated at around $6 million in fireworks alone, according to the website Bankrate.com.

The event has required the presence of 6,000 police officers in previous years, according to the city.

Asked if a fireworks display was worth the price, Mr. de Blasio said the celebration of what he called a “sacred” day was “part of our effort to fight back to recognize a day of this importance.” In the “grand scheme of things,” he said,the cost was small.

Considering that the city has already canceled popular outdoor events like the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and the Pride Parade, which had been scheduled for June 27, in line with a ban on large gatherings meant to slow the virus’s spread, Mr. de Blasio did not specify what exactly a safe, socially distant Independence Day celebration would look like.

Six New York prison inmates have now died in the outbreak.

The spread of the coronavirus may be slowing in New York, but the infection rate among inmates at some of the state’s 52 prisons continues to spike, sickening hundreds of prisoners and killing six as of Tuesday.

Four of the dead prisoners had been held at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility north of New York City in Ossining, according to state Department of Correction and Community Supervision.

The two other dead inmates had been incarcerated at the Otisville and Queensboro Correctional facilities. A total of 239 prisoners have tested positive for the virus and 79 have recovered, the department said.

Mr. Cuomo agreed in March to release up to 1,100 people who were being held in jails in New York City and elsewhere in the state on minor parole violations. More recently, he said the state would free prisoners who were older and nearing their release dates.

But prisoners-rights advocates, saying the prison population tends to include people who are older and have underlying health conditions, have urged the governor to go further by releasing more prisoners who are susceptible to potentially fatal complications of the virus.

Advocates said they had heard from inmates at Sing Sing who described troubling conditions, including a person coughing excessively for days and exhibiting other virus symptoms like diarrhea, headache and a loss of senses while being held in isolation.

“Many more people will die on Cuomo’s watch unless he immediately answers the national call for him to test all incarcerated people and grant broad clemency now,” the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign and other advocacy groups said in a statement on Tuesday.

Listen to ‘The Daily’: Getting Off Rikers Island

We spoke to a Rikers Island resident who has the coronavirus. “They are killing us,” he said. “What are we supposed to do?”

Listen to ‘The Daily’: Getting Off Rikers Island

We spoke to a Rikers Island resident who has the coronavirus. “They are killing us,” he said. “What are we supposed to do?”

michael barbaro

From The New York Times, I’m Michael Barbaro. This is “The Daily.”

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archived recording

Well, some call it the most dangerous place on the planet when it comes to facing a coronavirus outbreak — a packed county jail could be a disaster waiting to happen.

michael barbaro

Across the U.S. —

archived recording 1

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said —

archived recording 2

In Chicago, the Cook County Jail has —

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New York calls for quick action now growing louder after —

michael barbaro

Jails and prisons, with their cramped quarters and communal living, have become hotbeds for the spread of the coronavirus —

archived recording 1

Prisoners are sounding the alarm on the ballooning outbreak, writing messages on windows reading, “Help. We matter.” And “We’re dying.”

archived recording 2

Everybody is losing it. I mean, it’s not just the detainees but also people that are working here.

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We cannot change the fundamental nature of jail. We cannot socially distance dozens of elderly men living in a dorm sharing a bathroom. Think of a cruise ship recklessly boarding more passengers each day.

michael barbaro

— prompting local governments to take the unprecedented step of releasing thousands of inmates —

archived recording

People are confined to their homes, but this pandemic is actually bringing freedom to some New York City inmates. Mayor de Blasio said —

michael barbaro

— and raising the fraught question of who is let out and who remains in custody. Today, Megan Twohey speaks with our colleague Alan Feuer about the story of one inmate trying to get out of the second largest jail in the country, Rikers Island in New York.

It’s Thursday, April 23.

megan twohey

So, Alan, tell me about Mitch Pomerance.

alan feuer

So I met Mitch Pomerance through his lawyer, Laura Eraso. And Mitch is 54. And before the virus even landed at Rikers, Mitch was already in bad health. In fact, his health was so bad at one point that he had to be transported off the Island to a nearby hospital, where he underwent surgery to drain fluid from his lungs. And so he’s been working with Laura, his lawyer, trying to build a case to get off of Rikers Island.

laura eraso

Hey, Mitch. Can you hear me?

mitch pomerance

Yes.

alan feuer

And we recorded three of their conversations over the course of a week, earlier this month.

laura eraso

So you know, like I had told you a little bit about earlier regarding today, we were in line all day for the writ to be heard. But unfortunately, the court only goes to 4:30, and they weren’t able to squeeze it in on the calendar.

alan feuer

The court system, don’t forget, has more or less shut down because of the pandemic.

megan twohey

Right.

alan feuer

And on the day that we recorded our first call with Mitch, there was indeed a backlog in the court system, and the judge didn’t have time to hear Mitch’s case.

megan twohey

And while Mitch is waiting for the judge to hear his case, what is the situation like for him inside the jail?

laura eraso

I know your sister told me that somebody else in your dorm had been taken out?

alan feuer

So Mitch is housed in a dorm at Rikers. And that means that he lives with a dozen or so inmates in one open room. And he tells his lawyer that one person in that dorm has tested positive for Coivd-19.

mitch pomerance

Yes, we were tested again the other day, and it turns out that at least one is a carrier. So this guy actually, although he has no symptoms, he actually has the disease, they say, and he can pass it on to the rest of us. And so they took him out today, and it’s real scary because no one was told.

alan feuer

Mitch is also telling his lawyer here that the staff at Rikers hasn’t cleaned the dorms since that person tested positive.

laura eraso

So what did they — did they just test you and leave? Or did they do any other — did they clean or sanitize or anything?

mitch pomerance

[LAUGHS] They didn’t clean. They didn’t even empty the garbage yet. We have garbage overflowing all the garbage pails, and they didn’t even clean. They gave us a new test two days ago, three days ago, and he’s the only one — the only they told us about so far. So I’m sure — I’m positive there’s more. I’m praying it’s not me. I’m praying it’s not me.

laura eraso

I mean, was he wearing a mask or anything?

mitch pomerance

No, never. They gave us one mask for the whole week yesterday — last night. My mask fell apart like four days ago. So I had no mask. I’ve had no mask for four days.

megan twohey

And how does that description of the conditions, at least in his particular dorm, how does that square with what you’ve learned in your reporting?

alan feuer

Well, from the start of the crisis, the Department of Corrections has taken several measures to slow the spread of the virus. They’ve asked inmates to sleep head to toe at night. You know, they wanted to get one mouth and nose as far away from another mouth and nose as they could. They had the cleaning staff clean the common areas and the housing areas as best as possible. But the fact is, conditions at Rikers remain very unsanitary. You know, the inmates can’t get hand sanitizer because it’s an alcohol-based product, and they’re not allowed to have alcohol. Oftentimes, the only way for them to get soap for their own personal hygiene is to buy it in the commissary. So these measures that were put in place to stop the spread of the virus haven’t always worked.

laura eraso

I know you guys sleep in pretty close proximity. How close do you think you were to him?

mitch pomerance

About 5 feet, 6 feet from where he sleeps — he slept — over the next aisle over, one person over.

laura eraso

Wow.

mitch pomerance

So that was about 6 feet from me, yeah.

laura eraso

But how do you feel? How do your lungs feel? I know you’re going through that too.

mitch pomerance

It’s constantly — where they operate, it hurts a lot.

megan twohey

So it sounds like Mitch’s risk of getting Covid-19 is really high.

alan feuer

Yes. But, in fact, Mitch’s lawyer, Laura, expects they could get a decision from the judge very soon about the question of his release.

laura eraso

And hopefully we get a result tomorrow, but we can talk more about that, OK?

mitch pomerance

OK, thank you so much for everything. I appreciate your help. I’ll be talking to you tomorrow.

laura eraso

All right, stay well.

mitch pomerance

Good luck. Thank you.

alan feuer

But when they talk the next day —

attorney

Hey, can you hear me?

mitch pomerance

Yeah.

alan feuer

— she’s got some bad news. She and her team went in front of the judge. They argued the case. And the judge has said no, Mitch can’t get out.

megan twohey

Hmm.

laura eraso

I’m trying to do it as quickly as possible. I realize that someone else who was sleeping next to you had tested positive.

mitch pomerance

Someone else? Not someone else — four people.

laura eraso

Wow. So they came back today —

mitch pomerance

Four people, four people.

laura eraso

— with the test?

mitch pomerance

Yeah, four people — today. This is crazy. This is actually crazy. They’re killing us. They are killing us. What are we supposed to do? What do we do? We need to file a writ. I need to get out of here. I need to get out of here. They’re killing me. If I catch this, I’m dead. I don’t know what to do. We need somebody to step in. We need somebody important to step in — a congressman, a senator, somebody, a court, a judge. Somebody’s gotta do something for us — somebody.

megan twohey

So by this point, Rikers has already released hundreds of inmates.

alan feuer

Correct.

megan twohey

So how are they deciding who stays and who goes?

alan feuer

Well, so far they’ve released 650 people. And of those 650 people, you’re generally talking about three different categories of inmates. First, there are those who have been accused of non-violent, low-level offenses. There are also people who are at Rikers serving what’s called a city year, a sentence that is short, less than a year, and so they’re about to get out anyhow. And then there’s a third category of people who are at the Island because they’ve committed a technical violation of their parole, meaning they were out on parole for a previous crime, and they got caught doing something minor like smoking a joint or drinking a beer on their sidewalk.

megan twohey

So how does Mitch fit into this picture?

alan feuer

So the challenge for Mitch is that his case is just a lot more complicated.

Mitch has served a combined 22 years in prison for selling drugs and committing multiple robberies. The state considers him a violent offender. He got out of prison in 2018. But then, last summer, he was rearrested for an attempted robbery charge while he was on parole. So Mitch just doesn’t really fit neatly into any of those categories for people that were getting off Rikers Island. And yet, he’s medically vulnerable, which is another factor that judges are weighing in releasing people from Rikers and that the city itself is prioritizing people like that — those people, who, if they catch Covid-19, they’re more likely to die.

laura eraso

We’re trying to put as much pressure on the governor, on New York state docs, on Commissioner Annucci to release everyone and release them safely. I mean, as I’ve said before —

mitch pomerance

I don’t care about everyone. I want to get out. I’m trying to get out.

laura eraso

No, I know.

mitch pomerance

I don’t care about anybody else. Everyone else is not sick like I am. I’m going to die if I have this. If I get it, I’m going to die. Simple as that. Simple as that. Let’s not play games. I’m going to die. I don’t care about anybody else right now. I’m being selfish about this.

alan feuer

So Mitch represents this really difficult but interesting tension that a lot of courts are facing across the country right now. Does he pose too much of a risk to public safety to be let out, or is he medically vulnerable enough to be let out? Should judges be prioritizing the safety of the public, or should they be thinking about the health of the individual inmates?

[music]

megan twohey

So, Alan, it sounds like the judge, in denying Mitch’s request to get out of Rikers, is putting considerations of public safety above his health.

alan feuer

Yeah, absolutely.

megan twohey

So what does Mitch say about that?

alan feuer

Hey, Mitch, Alan Feuer from The New York Times. How are you?

mitch pomerance

I’m OK, I guess. Things are horrible here.

alan feuer

Well, I asked him. I just put it to him if he was a public safety threat given his rap sheet.

alan feuer

Well, let me ask you this.

mitch pomerance

Yes, sir.

alan feuer

Is there any way you can understand the judge’s decision? You know, it’s an attempted robbery charge. I’m not saying, you know, you haven’t been proven guilty yet.

mitch pomerance

Right.

alan feuer

But can you understand how a judge might make the decision that’s been made here?

mitch pomerance

Can I understand? Yes, I can understand. I can, without a doubt, that the judge doesn’t want to jump out the window and grant anything for fear of me going out and doing another crime, committing another crime. So, again, I do understand that. I absolutely do. But I can’t say anything more than look at my proof.

alan feuer

Do you see yourself as a threat to public safety?

mitch pomerance

I don’t. I don’t.

alan feuer

Explain that to me.

mitch pomerance

I can’t walk, first off. I’m in a wheelchair. If I can get up and walk two steps, it would be a miracle. I can’t walk. I mean, just look at the proof of what I have. At least with a clear conscience, look at it with open eyes, and then make a decision.

megan twohey

So what happens next?

mitch pomerance

Hi, Laura.

laura eraso

Hey, Mitch, can you hear me?

mitch pomerance

Yes, I can.

alan feuer

Mitch and Laura talked again the day after the judge denied his request to leave Rikers.

laura eraso

All right, so what did they tell you when they gave you your test?

mitch pomerance

So just five minutes ago the R.N. came, and he came around the dorm, and of the 12 people we have left in a dorm, everyone’s positive but three people. So now we’re positive, and we don’t know what’s going to happen now. There’s so many people that are positive —

alan feuer

Mitch tests positive for Covid-19.

megan twohey

Wow.

mitch pomerance

Yeah, there’s so many people that are positive on Rikers Island, it’s out of control. It’s out of control. I don’t feel good at all. I’m having a problem breathing already. I told them I’m having a problem breathing this morning. This is —

laura eraso

OK, well, I mean, we’re going to move fast on this. I just was actually on the phone —

megan twohey

So is that it? Is Mitch out of options?

alan feuer

Well, what this does — the change that this makes in Mitch’s case from a legal perspective is that it allows Laura, his lawyer, to make a totally different argument in front of the judge. Now, instead of just saying that Mitch is potentially at risk of contracting the disease, she can argue that because he already has it, and he’s got this terrible preexisting condition in his lungs, that he’s not going to be able to get the proper medical care he needs at Rikers Island.

laura eraso

I’m going to try to — I’m going to get these papers filed today, and I’m not going to wait for the other affirmation. So we’re going to handle this, and this definitely needs to be reargued in light of this fact, OK?

mitch pomerance

Yeah.

laura eraso

So just concentrate right now on trying to take care of yourself — your mental health, your physical health. So I’m going to be in touch. Call me at the end of the day, and I can confirm with you that I was able to finish that up and get it filed, OK?

mitch pomerance

All right, thanks.

laura eraso

OK, bye. Take care.

mitch pomerance

Goodbye.

alan feuer

These jails, like Navy ships or meat processing plants, they are petri dishes for infection. But unlike service members or essential workers, inmates in jails, they aren’t necessarily the most sympathetic population in the world. Still, should part of their punishment be to potentially contract a disease like Covid-19? I mean, is that supposed to be included in the price of going to jail?

Mitch is still there at Rikers, waiting for an answer.

alan feuer

So help me understand right now what an ordinary, average day of yours looks like today?

mitch pomerance

Hmm, well, I need help. I need help showering. So there’s this guy, Eddie, who helps me shower. He helps me get in and out of the shower in the morning time when he gets up. I take a shower, have breakfast, and go back to bed for a couple hours and take my medication. I’m just doing a lot of reading. That’s it. I try to stay in contact with my family on the phone.

alan feuer

And how are you feeling these days?

mitch pomerance

You know, I’m a little agitated right now. Any time I move around, it’s hard for me to breathe. So right now, I’m trying to draw breath. So I have a real bad headache right now.

automated speaker

You have one minute left.

mitch pomerance

I’m just trying to get out of here. I just want to be — I just want to live again. That’s it.

[music]

megan twohey

Well, Alan, thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us.

alan feuer

Well, thanks for having me, Megan.

michael barbaro

We’ll be right back.

[music]

michael barbaro

Here’s what else you need to know today. In a major discovery, public health officials in California now say that the coronavirus killed a resident there on Feb. 6. That discovery changes the timeline of the virus in the U.S. by revealing that infections began much earlier than previously thought. Until now, the first U.S. death was believed to have occurred in Washington State on Feb. 26, about three weeks later. The Feb. 6 death, in the town of Santa Clara, is believed to be the result of community spread, suggesting that the virus was circulating on the West Coast well before public health officials had realized. And The Times reports that Chinese government operatives were involved in spreading false warnings to Americans about an impending national lockdown in March. The warnings, which arrived as text messages and social media posts, alarmed millions of Americans. U.S. officials said that the tactics resembled past attempts by Russia to widen social divisions within the U.S. That’s it for “The Daily.” I’m Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.

Eight big cats at the Bronx Zoo test positive for the virus.

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Nadia, a 4-year-old Malayan tiger, was the first big cat at the Bronx Zoo to test positive for the virus. Credit...Julie Larsen Maher/Wildlife Conservation Society, via Reuters

It started with a Bronx Zoo employee who had contracted the coronavirus but was not showing any symptoms. From there, the virus spread to Nadia, a 4-year-old Malayan tiger who was visibly sick by March 27.

By Wednesday, five tigers and three African lions at the zoo had tested positive for the virus, zoo officials said.

The big cats were tested through fecal samples that were analyzed at veterinary labs. No resources were diverted from human testing to test the animals, the zoo said.

Workers at the zoo, which has been closed to the public since March 16, suspected that the cats had been infected after several developed a cough.

“All eight cats continue to do well,” the zoo said in a statement. “They are behaving normally, eating well and their coughing is greatly reduced.”

The Agriculture Department and the C.D.C. emphasized that there was “no evidence that pets play a role in spreading the virus in the United States.” For now, the C.D.C. recommends keeping cats indoors to prevent them from coming into contact with other animals or people.

For people who become sick, the agencies recommend, as they have in the past, staying away from pets as much as possible and treating them as you would a person in your family.

The City Council introduced a broad virus-relief package.

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A screenshot from the New York City Council Zoom meeting.Credit...

The New York City Council, meeting via Zoom on Wednesday, introduced a virus relief package that included measures to protect tenants, small businesses, essential workers and homeless people.

The legislations contains a workers’ “bill of rights” that requires paid sick leave for so-called gig workers and premiums for nonsalaried essential employees at big companies until the state of emergency is lifted, as well as a ban on the firing of essential workers without just cause.

The legislation would also give renters who have been affected financially by the virus and shutdown more time to pay their rent, and offer housing protection to essential workers, the City Council speaker, Corey Johnson, said.

The meeting on Wednesday, which was streamed live, was the council’s first since the city shut down in the face of the outbreak.

The measures to help essential workers at big companies include a requirement for bonuses ranging from $30 for shifts under four hours to $75 for shifts over eight hours.

The tenant protections would bar marshals and sheriffs from collecting debts or evicting residential or commercial tenants affected by the virus until next April.

For people living in homeless shelters, where the virus has hit hard, the legislation requires the city to provide private rooms for every adult until the pandemic ends.

The provisions for small businesses include suspending personal-liability provisions in leases so that business owners affected by the virus do not face personal financial ruin or bankruptcy.

Virus curve flattens in New Jersey, but cases flare in parts of state.

New Jersey recorded another 314 virus-related deaths, Gov. Philip D. Murphy said on Wednesday. It was a slight decline from the record one-day toll the state reported on Tuesday and brought the total number of virus-related deaths in New Jersey to 5,063.

As is his fashion, Mr. Murphy identified several of those who died of the virus in recent days. They included John Careccia, 74, the chief of the Woodbridge Township Ambulance and Rescue Squad, Kevin Kurdyla, who worked in production at The Star-Ledger of Newark and was a former Rutgers football standout, and John Ferrarella, 70, a retired Paterson Fire Department captain.

State officials continue to see evidence of progress in the fight against the virus, the governor said. For instance, the number of hospitalizations reported on Wednesday fell to 7,210, nearly 400 fewer than the day before. And the number of people being discharged from hospitals on a daily basis continues to outpace the number of people being admitted, Mr. Murphy said.

“We continue to see that the curve of new Covid-19 cases remains significantly flat,” he said. “But while we consider this a positive step in our fight we’re not even close to considering victory.”

Even with the positive trends, New Jersey officials are closely watching the virus’s spread in the central and southern parts of the state.

Judith Persichilli, the state health commissioner, said four hospitals in central New Jersey had reported being forced to divert patients elsewhere late Tuesday after becoming too full.

Frequently Asked Questions and Advice

Updated June 5, 2020

How many people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus in the U.S.?

The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.

Will protests set off a second viral wave of coronavirus?

Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.

How do we start exercising again without hurting ourselves after months of lockdown?

Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home.

My state is reopening. Is it safe to go out?

States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.

What’s the risk of catching coronavirus from a surface?

Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.

How can I protect myself while flying?

If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)

Should I wear a mask?

The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.

What should I do if I feel sick?

If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.

“We’re seeing an increase in cases in the central region and a flattening of the cases in the northern region,” she said.

Mr. Murphy also said he would require hospitals to report all demographic data for admitted patients who tested positive for the virus. Hospitals would also be required to provide demographic data for those who sought tests but did not get them, he said.

Deaths in New York passed 15,000.

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A woman was moved from Elmhurst Hospital Center into an ambulance on Tuesday.Credit...Dave Sanders for The New York Times

New York State recorded another 474 virus-related deaths, Mr. Cuomo said at his daily briefing on Wednesday. The new deaths brought the state’s overall toll to 15,302.

It was the third straight day that fewer than 500 deaths were reported, a sign that the outbreak might be leveling off after several days of more than 700 deaths.

The number of virus patients in hospitals also fell for a ninth straight day, Mr. Cuomo said.

During the question-and-answer portion of the briefing, Mr. Cuomo got into a testy exchange with a reporter who asked if the restrictions put in place to contain the virus might soon be doing more damage than the virus itself.

The reporter, Anne McCloy of WRGB-TV, cited protesters outside the State Capitol in Albany, who said they did not have enough money to feed their families for another week.

The governor, as he has previously, said that reducing the risk of death outweighed the economic hardship being felt around the state.

“You want to go to work? Go take the job as an essential worker,” he said. “There are people hiring. You can get a job as an essential worker. So now you can go to work and you can be an essential worker and you’re not going to kill anyone.”

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City park workers trim weeds at Brower Park in Brooklyn.Credit...Kevin Hagen for The New York Times

The exchange underscored a hard-line position the governor has taken that may become more difficult to stick to in the weeks to come.

Mr. Cuomo has said the virus is likely to surge to some degree once restrictions now in place are loosened, he declined on Wednesday to address how that expectation was affecting his plans to reopen.

Other developments from Mr. Cuomo’s briefing:

The governor said President Trump, whom he met with in Washington on Tuesday, had agreed to work to waive the standard agreement under which states pay for 25 percent of the funding they get from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

And he said that Michael R. Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, had volunteered to help with the state’s effort to test for the virus and trace its spread.

Later in the day, Dr. Kelly Henning of the public health program at Bloomberg Philanthropies, Mr. Bloomberg’s charitable organization, said on a Zoom call with reporters that the group would work with state officials, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a group called Vital Strategies to hire and train 4,000 to 5,000 people as contact tracers as soon as possible.

The state would pay the people, and the Bloomberg group would help with the hiring process, she said.

How N.Y.C. struggled to protect the workers who had to show up.

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Disinfecting a Department of Sanitation truck in the Bronx this month. Credit...Desiree Rios for The New York Times

For two weeks after the first confirmed case of coronavirus emerged in New York, 33,000 city employees were still punching in and out of work by resting their hands on a shared scanner. Sanitizer was placed nearby. It often ran out.

Some city workers, concerned about infection, took to wearing masks and gloves on the job. At least one agency ordered them to stop because they might induce panic.

“Staff are NOT permitted to use masks or gloves while serving clients,” read an email sent on March 12 to members of the city’s Human Resources Administration.

The coronavirus pandemic has posed a number of challenges that are unprecedented in modern history, forcing governments around the world to take extraordinary measures to try to curb the outbreak as the number of cases surpassed 2.4 million.

New York City, like many other governments, adopted policies that adhered to guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. As the virus spread, city and state officials took a more aggressive posture: Large gatherings were banned, schools were closed and businesses were ordered to have workers telecommute.

But when it came to its own huge work force of more than 300,000 full-time employees, New York City faced a different challenge: how to keep essential levels of government functioning without unduly exposing workers to the virus.

N.Y.C. will offer more assistance to public housing residents.

Mr. de Blasio said on Wednesday that the city would extend extra support to the 400,000 people who live in New York City Housing Authority buildings.

The mayor said that public housing residents would be a priority at six testing sites set to open in the coming days, and that three sites opening next week would be based at public housing developments in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan.

Mr. de Blasio said face coverings and gloves would be delivered to all authority tenants and that older residents would be given hand sanitizer. Additionally, he said, food delivery would be expanded to all authority buildings that house older people.

He also said the city would pay $5 million to supply 10,000 older residents of public housing properties with free tablet computers with internet access to help them stay in touch with their families.